Review Comments1
tions virtually preclude this possibility, and one
of the most important aspects of a symposium, the
opportunity for discussion and instant feedback,
is lessened substantially.
Vernon C. Bleich2
Throughout the week, many authors made outstanding presentations. Clearly, these individuals were
not only competent in their areas of expertise,
but they were familiar with their subject material
and used excellent graphics to accompany their
presentations. In contrast, others had not even
taken the time to review a set of slides to make
sure that they were arranged properly. Still
others used material of such poor quality that its
value as a visual aid was at best questionable.
The importance of presenting high quality graphical material cannot be overemphasized (Hooper,
1974).
When I was first asked to participate in a
panel discussion, I was hesitant to do so. After
careful consideration, I consented because it
presented me with the rare opportunity to voice
my views on a subject, and to speak those views
to an audience which might be influenced by them.
The panel members were provided with brief guidelines on which their discussions were to be based.
Five major points were included, but I have elected to emphasize certain ones, and mention others
only in passing. It should be pointed out that
these views are those of a scientist who is employed as a manager, and they may therefore be
particularly pertinent as they relate to interactions between research and management disciplines.
All of us put untold months, if not years, worth
of effort into most traditional publications we
prepare. The opportunity for immediate feedback
from colleagues does not occur with traditional
publications as it does with presentations at
symposia. If that important opportunity is to be
fully realized, we must all make the effort to
stimulate responses, and adequate preparation is
the primary avenue by which that will occur.
INTERDISCIPLINARY INTERACTION
During this discussion, I will limit my remarks
to three main points: (1) the quality of presentations; (2) the observed interactions (and lack
thereof) between persons affiliated with various
disciplines; and (3) the relevancy of what was
presented here to application in the "real world,"
and the future common path that researchers and
managers must take.
Now the Sirens have a still more
fatal weapon than their song, namely their silence... Someone might
possibly have escaped from their
singing; but from their silence,
certainly never.
Franz Kafka, Parables
QUALITY OF PRESENTATIONS
Much effort is required for a man to
learn the truth--but it is twice as
difficult for him to make it known
to his fellow man.
Plato
During this Symposium, I attended some of the
finest presentations I have ever heard; conversely, many others had been rather poorly prepared.
Symposia are designed to provide an open communication of ideas by the speaker and a ready response by the audience. Poorly prepared presenta-
1
Presented at the Symposium on Dynamics and
Management of Mediterranean-type Ecosystems,
June 22-26, 1981, San Diego, California.
2
Associate Wildlife Biologist, California
Department of Fish and Game, Hemet, Calif.
Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-58. Berkeley, CA: Pacific Southwest Forest and Range
Experiment Station, Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture; 1982.
Throughout this Symposium, observed interaction
between disciplines was not as evident as I'd
hoped it would be. This, I'm sure, is partly human nature, but also is partially a result of mutual
avoidance reactions which seem to persist. At
future symposia, it is necessary that this apparent barrier to interaction degenerate.
With the current Administration, there likely
will be a decline in Government funding for much
research that previously had been supported by the
National Science Foundation and other such agencies.
As a result, I anticipate greater interaction between university affiliates and personnel employed
in management positions. Managers must be willing
and able to communicate their needs to researchers,
and researchers must be willing to provide managers
with the information they require. I suspect that
at future symposia of this type there will be more
interaction; if not, these words have been wasted.
THE FUTURE
Men ought to know that in the theatre
of life it is only for gods and
567
angels to be spectators.
as they once were, at least in Mediterranean-type
ecosystems.
Francis Bacon, New Atlantis
Throughout this Symposium we were exposed to a
variety of papers which dealt with many subjects,
all related in one way or another to management
or research in Mediterranean-type ecosystems.
Some of these papers dealt with very esoteric research topics- topics that have relatively little,
if any, management implication. Others did an admirable job of integrating with management implications that which superficially appeared to be
esoteric.
Our colleagues from foreign countries appear
to be at the forefront of conducting managementoriented research. Ed Fuentes presented an excellent example of applied research in Chilean
matorral, as did Leonidas Liacos in Greek maquis.
Although some Americans presented the results of
management-oriented research, it is evident that
this type of work is a much higher priority among
our foreign colleagues.
An infinite number of opportunities exist for
us to broaden the scope of research efforts, but
managers must be willing to communicate their needs
to those capable of supplying the answers, and those
capable of supplying the answers also must be willing to do so.
Recently, Michael Soule and Bruce Wilcox (1980)
edited a book, Conservation Biology, which possibly is the most important work in the field of resource management since Aldo Leopold's classic,
Game Management. In the opening chapter, Soule
and Wilcox state,
Unfortunately, the emergence of conservation biology as a respectable
academic discipline has been slowed
by prejudice. Until recently, few
academically oriented biologists
would touch the subject. While wildlife management, forestry, and resource biologists (particularly in
the industrialized temperate countries)
struggled to buffer the most grievous or economically harmful of human
impacts, the large majority of their
academic colleagues thought the subject below their dignity. But academic snobbery is no longer a viable
strategy, if it ever was. Because
many habitats, especially tropical
ones, are on the verge of total extinction, the luxury of prejudice
against applied science is unaffordable.
One thing that became more evident as the Symposium progressed is that all of the participants
are partners, and we must be willing to work together toward a concept of ecosystem management.
Our Australian colleagues, as evidenced by Syd
Shea's excellent presentation, have adopted that
approach, but much out of necessity as he related.
We Americans have some distance to go toward meeting that objective.
Of course, most Mediterranean-type ecosystems
have not yet suffered the plight of many tropical
ecosystems (see Whitmore, 1980); improved interdisciplinary cooperation hopefully will preclude
that possibility. Both as managers and researchers
we must work toward a common goal: the sound and
productive management of the world's Mediterraneantype ecosystems.
Sometime ago, Frank Egler (1974) published a
review of a book entitled If Deer are to Survive.
In that review, Egler said,
There is a huge crevasse that separates the zoological field of wildlife management from the botanical
field of wildlife habitat management. Despite the fact that each
field is greatly dependent on the
other, each marches on his own side,
not aware that they should do more
than gaze coyly at each other from
a distance.
Evidence presented during the Symposium suggests
that Egler's concerns no longer are as appropriate
LITERATURE CITED
568
Egler, F. E. Wildlife habitat management, and
deer. Ecology 55:684-685; 1974.
Hooper, J. K. Improving wildlife communications.
Cal-Neva Wildl., Trans. 1974:1-8; 1974.
Leopold, A. Game Management. New York: Charles
Scribner's Sons; 1933. 481 p.
Soule, M. E. and B. A. Wilcox, eds. Conservation
Biology. Sunderland, Mass.: Sinauer Associates,
Inc; 1980. 395 p.
Whitmore, T. C. The conservation of tropical
rain forests. In Soule, M. E. and Wilcox, B. A.,
eds. Conservation biology. Sunderland, Mass.:
Sinauer Associates, Inc.; 1980.